Harris Leads Trump by Almost 40 Points Among Asian American Voters, a New Poll Shows

Vice President Kamala Harris has a significant lead over former President Donald Trump among Asian Americans, according to a poll conducted earlier this month.

The poll showed that 66% of Asian American voters plan on backing Harris, while 28% say they’ll be voting for Trump. When he was still in the race, President Joe Biden had been losing Asian American voters, dropping roughly 8 points compared to the 2020 presidential election cycle, a previous poll showed. But experts say that Harris has more than reversed that dip.

“People had seen all the Zoom meetings for different Asian American groups for Harris, is that actually materializing in terms of support? … The answer is yes,” Karthick Ramakrishnan, whose nonprofit AAPI Data commissioned the poll with nonprofit Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote. “Harris has essentially restored a lot of the drop in support that Biden experienced.”

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The Asian American eligible voter population grew by 15% in the last four years, making them the fastest-growing electorate in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. This demographic places jobs and the economy as a top priority, while inflation and health care were tied for second, according to an earlier poll.

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Before Harris entered the race, 46% of Asian American voters said they would choose Biden. It was down from the 54% who said they planned to do so in the 2020 election. During that cycle, just under a third said they’d vote for Trump.

Harris’ overall favorability also increased, the poll showed. Sixty-two percent of participants said they have a favorable opinion of the vice president, while 35% said they have an unfavorable opinion. That’s 18 percentage points up from where she polled in the previous survey, conducted in April and May. Ramakrishnan pointed out that the results show that Harris performs better as the front runner, as opposed to as Biden’s running mate.

Meanwhile, 28% of Asian American voters have a favorable opinion of Donald Trump, slightly down from previous polling.

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